Liquid sprayer

ABSTRACT

A transducer type liquid sprayer in which a storage tank for storing spray liquid can be easily replaced together with a core for soaking up the spray liquid from the storage tank is provided. The liquid sprayer includes a spray liquid storage unit and a main body for supporting the spray liquid storage unit and a power supply unit. The spray liquid storage unit includes a core for soaking up spray liquid and the main body includes a lid member attached to a support member for supporting the spray liquid storage unit so that the lid member can be opened and closed. A spray hole is formed in the lid member and a transducer is also disposed inside the lid member and electrically connected to the power supply unit. The transducer disposed inside the lid member is in close contact with and pressed against the core.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 13/619,831 titled “Liquid Sprayer,” filed Sep. 14, 2012, whichis a continuation-in-part and claims the benefit of Japanese PatentApplication No. 2012-106349 filed May 7, the contents of which areincorporated in this disclosure by reference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND

As is known in the art, there are conventional spray cans usingpropellants as liquid sprayers for spraying liquid fragrance or thelike. This spray can type liquid sprayer has safety issues because ofthe use of flammable gas as a propellant. Therefore, in recent years,transducer type liquid sprayers for spraying liquid fragrance have beendeveloped which use transducers for generating ultrasonic vibration.

Liquid sprayers using a transducer, as disclosed in JP 2010-7899 A,include a liquid storage tank for storing spray liquid, a mist producingmeans for turning the spray liquid into mist, and a spray liquid supplymeans for supplying the spray liquid in the liquid storage tank to themist producing means. The spray liquid supply means includes a firstliquid retaining body having one end disposed at a predeterminedposition in the liquid storage tank to absorb the spray liquid in theliquid storage tank, a substantially cylindrical second liquid retainingbody brought into contact with the other end of the first liquidretaining body and having a predetermined inside diameter and apredetermined outside diameter, and a third liquid retaining body havingone end brought into contact with an outer peripheral face of the secondliquid retaining body at predetermined contact pressure and the otherend brought into contact with the mist producing means at predeterminedcontact pressure.

In the sprayer disclosed in JP 2010-7899 A, however, the liquid storagetank for storing the spray liquid is detached from the liquid retainingbody for absorbing the spray liquid in the liquid storage tank and onlythe liquid storage tank is attached and detached to add the sprayliquid. Therefore, if the sprayer is used for a long term, solidcomponents and impurities included in the spray liquid accumulate in theliquid retaining body and the liquid retaining body cannot soak up thespray liquid. Moreover, the liquid retaining body is housed in anL-shaped casing and therefore the liquid retaining body is difficult todetach from the casing and is not easy to replace.

Further, at least some prior art liquid sprayers have the spray liquidand spray hole positioned such that the spray mist is sprayed in anupward vertical direction, precluding wall mounting high on the wall, asthe spray mist will be sprayed onto the ceiling. Further, in these typesof sprayers, if they are placed lower to the ground, the mist can becomean eye or nasal irritant if it is dissipated in close proximity tosomeone nearby.

SUMMARY

Therefore, an object of the invention is to achieve a transducer typeliquid sprayer in which a storage tank for storing spray liquid can beeasily replaced together with a core for soaking up the spray liquidfrom the storage tank. In addition, the liquid sprayer has ahorizontally directed spray mist, such that the sprayer may be mountedon a wall.

To realize the object, the present inventor repeatedly carried out testproduction and experiments to achieve the invention described herein. Asa result, the inventor has found a notable fact that a transducer may bemounted on a front facing lid, and when the lid and transducer aredetached from the core, a spray liquid storage unit can be easilyattached and detached.

According to the present invention, a liquid sprayer for dispensing aspray liquid is provided which achieves the above described objectives.The liquid sprayer comprises a main body having a support member havinga back face, an upper portion, and a lower portion, and a power supplyunit positioned in the interior of the support member, on the upperportion of the support member. A lid member having a front face isrotatably connected to the support member. When the lid member ispositioned in an open position, the upper portion and lower portion ofthe support member are revealed. When the lid member is positioned inthe closed position, the lid member closes down on the support member,forming the main body. The lid member also has a spray hole formed onthe front face of the lid member. A spray liquid storage unit issupported by and positioned on the lower portion of the support member,the spray liquid storage unit has a spray liquid housed in a storagetank and a core for soaking up spray liquid. The spray liquid storageunit is removable from the main body when the lid member is in the openposition. A transducer is disposed inside the lid member andelectrically connected to the power supply unit, such that when the lidmember is in the closed position, the transducer is in close contactwith and pressed against a section of the core. The core, transducer andspray hole are substantially aligned, such that when electric power issupplied from the power supply unit to the transducer, the spray liquidretained in the core is turned into a spray mist by vibration of thetransducer and sprayed outside the main body through the spray hole.

Preferably, when the lid member is in an open position, the upperportion and lower portion of the support member are revealed, and whenthe lid member is in a closed position, the transducer is disposedparallel to a front face of the core. In this position, the core,transducer and spray hole will be substantially aligned to dispense thespray liquid in a spray mist upon the application of power to thetransducer.

In other embodiments, the lid member has side faces rising from oppositesides of the front face of the lid member such that the lid and supportmember form a shell which makes up the main body. More preferably, asupport arm is positioned between opposite side faces of the lid memberand the transducer is affixed to the support arm, which raises andlowers the transducer with lid member and aligns the transducer with thespray hole and core. The liquid sprayer may also have one or moresupport members for supporting one or both of the power supply unit andthe spray liquid storage unit.

According a preferred embodiment, the spray hole is formed in the lidmember so as to face a front face of the core when the lid member isclosed onto the support member. The transducer faces the spray hole andis disposed inside the lid member. The transducer is in close contactwith and pressed against the front face of the core and is supported bythe support member when the lid member is closed onto the supportmember. Therefore, the transducer is detached from the core when the lidmember is opened and the spray liquid storage unit supported on thesupport member can be easily attached and detached.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features, aspects and advantages of the presentinvention will become better understood with regard to the followingdescription, appended claims, and accompanying drawings where:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an outward appearance of the liquidsprayer according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a front view of an inside of a lid member of the liquidsprayer shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing a section of the lid member shown inFIG. 2 and taken along line A-A;

FIG. 4 is a front view showing an inside of a support member of theliquid sprayer shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing a section of the support member shownin FIG. 4 and taken along line B-B;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing a central vertical sectional view ofthe liquid sprayer shown in FIG. 1;

FIGS. 7A, 7B, and 7C are explanatory sectional views showing open andclosed states of the lid member and the support member of the liquidsprayer shown in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 8 is a sectional view showing a central vertical sectional view ofa liquid soaking member according to another embodiment of theinvention.

DESCRIPTION

Referring now to FIG. 1, a liquid sprayer 1 according to one embodimentof the invention is shown. As shown in FIG. 1, a liquid sprayer 1comprises a case main body 4 (main body) having a lid member 2 thatforms a front face side and a support member 3 forming a back face sideof the main body.

Referring now to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, FIG. 2 is a front view of the insideof the lid member 2 of the liquid sprayer 1 (shown in FIG. 1), and FIG.3 is a sectional view showing a section of the lid member shown in FIG.2 and taken along line A-A. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the case mainbody 4 houses spray liquid storage unit 5, which stores spray liquid, atransducer unit 6, and a power supply unit 7. The transducer unit 6turns the spray liquid stored in the spray liquid storage unit 5 intomist, and the power supply unit 7 supplies electric power to thetransducer unit 6.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the lid member 2 is formed by left andright side faces 10 and 11 and upper and lower faces 12 and 13. In someembodiments, the upper and lower faces 12 and 13 extend backward in arising manner from the front face 9 at a substantially central portionthereof. A spray hole 8 for discharging the spray liquid which has beenturned into the mist by the transducer unit 6 is positioned between theleft and right side faces 10 and 11. Preferably, the spray hole 8 ispositioned closer to the upper face 12 than the lower face 13, but inother embodiments, the spray hole 8 is centrally located. In someembodiments, the back face of the support member may have impressions orgrooves for wall mounting.

In another embodiment (not shown), the main body of the liquid sprayercomprises a power indicator display electrically connected to the powersupply unit 7 for indicating to a user if additional power is needed tosupply the unit (e.g., batteries). In another embodiment (not shown) themain body of the liquid sprayer comprises a light sensor, motiondetector, or other means for automatic turn off or turn on of thedevice.

In one embodiment, one or more fitting shafts 14 are positioned on theinner sides of the left and right side faces 10 and 11. The fittingshafts 14 are connected to the support member 3, and protrude to faceeach other from back upper end portions and support plates 15 a and 15b. The support plates 15 a and 15 b support the transducer unit 6 andare positioned to face each other at positions above the spray hole 8.

Referring again to FIG. 3, a sectional view of a section of the lidmember 2 shown in FIG. 2, taken along line A-A is shown. Also shown inFIG. 3 is an expanded view of the support plates 15 a and 15 b.Positioned on each of support plates 15 a and 15 b are a connectingshaft 47 and a restricting shaft 49, as well as a connecting hole 16which is formed by a circular hole 17 and a pair of fan-shaped holes 18.Fan-shaped holes 18 extend from the circular hole 17 to be symmetricwith respect to a point from the circular hole 17 (see an enlarged viewof the connecting hole 16 shown in FIG. 3). Referring again to FIG. 2,an optional pair of lock holes 19 is positioned in the lower face 13.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the support member 3 is formed by left andright side faces 21 and 22 and upper and lower faces 23 and 24 extendingforward in rising manners from a back face 20 disposed to be sandwichedbetween the opposite side faces of the lid member 2. The upper face 12of the lid member 2 and the upper face 23 of the support member 3 forman upper face of the case main body 4 and the lower face 13 of the lidmember 2 and the lower face 24 of the support member 3 form the lowerface of the case main body 4. Fitting holes 25, 25 in which the fittingshafts 14, 14 of the lid member 2 are to be fitted are formed in upperend portions of the left and right side faces 21 and 22. Therefore, thelid member 2 is connected to the support member 3 to be able to turn byusing the fitting shafts 14, 14 fitted in the fitting holes 25, 25 inthe support member 3 as rotary shafts.

Inside the support member 3, the power supply unit 7 is fixed to anupper portion of the support member 3 and the spray liquid storage unit5 is disposed at a lower portion of the support member 3. As shown inFIG. 6, at a lower end portion in the support member 3, resilient plates26 having U shapes in a side view protrude forward with their only upperends fixed to the back face 20 and lock pins 27 protruding downward fromthe resilient plates 26 can move in a vertical direction as theresilient plates 26 bend. In this way, when the lid member 2 is closedonto the support member 3, the lock pins 27 of the support member 3 arefitted in the lock holes 19, 19 in the lid member 2 to lock opening andclosing of the lid member 2 with respect to the support member 3.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, the spray liquid storage unit 5 is formed bya storage tank 28 which stores the spray liquid and a core 34 forsoaking up the spray liquid from the storage tank 28. The storage tankmay be made from suitable materials for holding spray liquids such aspolymers and glass. Preferred materials are recyclable.

In some embodiments, the storage tank 28 has an opening portion 30, intowhich a liquid soaking holder 29 is inserted, in its upper face. Theliquid soaking holder 29 is preferably made from a somewhat rigidmaterial that can support the core 34. An outer side face of the openingportion 30 has a base end formed in a shape of a thread groove and a tipend having a large diameter. Between the thread-shaped portion and thelarge-diameter portion, a holding face 31 having a smaller diameter thanboth the portions is formed.

The liquid soaking holder 29 may include an outer tube portion 32 fittedand fixed into the opening portion 30 in the storage tank 28 and aninner tube portion 33 inserted through a hollow portion in the outertube portion 32 and extending from an inside to an outside of thestorage tank 28 and the core 34, for soaking up the spray liquid in thestorage tank 28 by capillary action, is fixed in a hollow portion of theinner tube portion 33. The remaining portions of the liquid soakingholder 29 which are parts of the outer tube portion 32 and the innertube portion 33 are connected by a connecting bridge 35 and a surplus ofthe spray liquid soaked up by the core 34 returns into the storage tank28 from a portion between both the tube portions 32 and 33 which are notconnected by the connecting bridge 35. A front face of a tip end portionof the inner tube portion 33 may be notched to expose the core 34 andrespective wall faces of the tip end portion of the inner tube portion33 and brought into contact with left and right side faces, a back face,and an upper face of the core 34 form a surrounding portion 36.

In other embodiments, a cap (not shown), such as a screw cap, may befitted onto the thread groove formed at the opening portion 30 of thestorage tank 28. The cap aids in preventing evaporation of the sprayliquid from the storage tank 28.

The core 34 may be formed to have a rectangular section. Preferably, thecore 34 is formed from a material that has the ability to flow liquid,particularly without assistance and in opposition to gravity, such as bycapillary action. The material for core 34 may be felt, nonwoven fabricmade of natural pulp, and material obtained by twining fibers such aspolypropylene and polyethylene may be used. In a preferred embodiment,the core is a 0.240 g/cc wick, made of HRM, which is 120 mm length×7mmdiameter.

As shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, the power supply unit 7 includes a box portion37 for housing a battery and a control board. The support member 3 mayalso have a holding plate 39 supported by a pair of support pieces 38,38 extending downward from the box portion 37, and a retaining groove 40provided to a front face of the box portion 37. In some embodiments, thebox portion 37 may contain a key pad for setting automatic sprayintervals. The key pad may be a buttons or an electronic display, suchas an LED display with programmable settings, such as from 1 to 5 secondintervals, preferably 2 second intervals every 15 or 30 minutes, etc.,or a manual setting, as may be desired by the user.

As shown in FIG. 5, a C-shaped holding portion 41 which is open forwardmay be formed in the holding plate 39 and the holding portion 41 hassuch an inside diameter as to be fitted over the holding face 31 of thestorage tank 28. When the holding portion 41 of the power supply unit 7holds the holding face 31 of the storage tank 28, the surroundingportion 36 of the inner tube portion 33 extends upward from the openingportion 30 of the storage tank 28 and is fitted in the retaining groove40.

As power-supply voltage of the power supply unit 7, DC 4.5 V, 6.0 V, and7.5 V may be used, by way of example.

Referring again to FIGS. 2 and 3, the transducer unit 6 may include asupport arm 42 having a recessed shape and a transducer 44 may be fixedto a lateral bar portion 43 of the support arm 42, and vertical barportions 45 a and 45 b. The support arm 42 extends between vertical barportions 45 a and 45 b, while tilting, from the lateral bar portion 43.The lateral bar portion 43 is provided with two protecting pieces 46 aand 46 b. The protecting pieces 46 a and 46 b are positioned parallel onopposite sides of the transducer 44. At tip ends of each of the verticalbar portions 45 a and 45 b, the support arm 42, connecting shafts 47protruding outward are provided. Each of the connecting shafts 47includes a round shaft 48 and restricting shafts 49, 49 extending to besymmetric with respect to a point from the round shaft 48 (see theenlarged view of the connecting shaft shown in FIG. 3). By fitting theopposite connecting shafts 47 into the connecting holes 16 in thesupport plates 15 provided to the inner side of the lid member 2, thesupport arm 42 is supported to be able to turn between the oppositesupport plates 15 a and 15 b of the lid member 2. Turning of the supportarm 42 is restricted by interference between the restricting shafts 49of the connecting shafts 47 and the fan-shaped holes 18 of theconnecting holes 16.

The transducer 44 is preferably a metal plate having a mesh interior,which is mounted to a ceramic plate, which is then electricallyconnected to the power supply unit. Preferably, the metal plate is arectangular plate of 7 mm in length and 8 mm in width and comprised of aNi—Co alloy. Preferably the transducer 44 is resistant to corrosion fromthe spray liquid. The interior of the metal plate is comprised of a meshmaterial which forms the spray mist when vibrated in contact with thecore and spray liquid. Preferably, the mesh size is less than 50 μm,with a hole size of less than 5 μm, with total holes on the metal plateof less than 1200 holes. However, the dimension (size) and holes aredetermined according to the power consumption. The metal plate ismounted on a side to a ceramic plate and electrically connected to thepower supply to vibrate the transducer 44. The ceramic plate ispreferably 6 mm in length and 10 mm in width.

Next, according to another embodiment of the invention, a method ofassembling the liquid sprayer 1 is described. According to thisembodiment, first, the power supply unit 7 is fixed into the upperportion of the support member 3. The connecting shafts 47 of the supportarm 42 are fitted into the connecting holes 16 formed in the oppositesupport plates 15 of the lid member 2 to support the support arm 42between the opposite side faces of the lid member 2. Next, the oppositefitting shafts 14 of the lid member 2 are inserted into the oppositefitting holes 25 in the support member 3 to connect the lid member 2 tothe support member 3 so that the lid member 2 can turn. After that, anelectric wire (not shown) extending from the power supply unit 7 isconnected to the transducer 44 of the transducer unit 6. Then, theholding face 31 of the spray liquid storage unit 5 formed by insertingthe liquid soaking holder 29 into the storage tank 28 is fitted into theholding plate 39 of the power supply unit 7 to thereby fix the sprayliquid storage unit 5 into the lower portion of the support member 3.Lastly, the lid member 2 is closed onto the support member 3 and thelock pins 27 of the support member 3 are fitted into the lock holes 19in the lid member 2 to thereby lock opening and closing of the lidmember 2 with respect to the support member 3.

In the assembled liquid sprayer 1, the transducer 44 and the core 34with which the transducer 44 is in close contact are exposed through thespray hole 8 in the lid member 2. When the electric power is suppliedfrom the power supply unit 7 to vibrate the transducer 44, the sprayliquid retained by the core 34 is turned into the mist by the vibrationof the transducer 44 and sprayed outside the case main body 4 throughthe spray hole 8 in a direction generally perpendicular to the face ofthe transducer 44. Because the respective faces except the front face ofthe tip end portion of the core 34 in close contact with the transducer44 are surrounded with the surrounding portion 36, it is possible toprevent the spray liquid, which has been turned into the mist by thetransducer 44, from being sprayed inside the case main body 4. As itwill be understood by those of skill in the art, the transducer 44contacts the core 34 with enough distance such that the vibration of thetransducer 44 draws liquid through the mesh to dissipate the sprayliquid as a mist, but not so close that the core 34 restricts movementof the transducer 44.

In a preferred embodiment, the spray mist sprayed outside the main bodythrough the spray hole is projected outside the main body in asubstantially horizontal direction. In another preferred embodiment, thespray mist comprises droplets from about 1 um to 10 um, and morepreferably droplets of less than 7 um.

To replace the spray liquid storage unit 5, by inserting a pin (notshown) into the lock hole 19 in the lid member 2 to push the lock pin 27inward, the locking of the lid member 2 to the support member 3 isreleased and the lid member 2 is turned upward with respect to thesupport member 3. Next, the old spray liquid storage unit 5 is detachedfrom the holding plate 39 of the power supply unit 7 and a new sprayliquid storage unit 5 is fixed to the holding plate 39. Lastly, the lidmember 2 is closed onto the support member 3 and locked.

Next, a positional relationship between the support arm 42 and the core34 when the lid member 2 is opened and closed with respect to thesupport member 3 of the liquid sprayer 1 according to the embodimentwill be described based on FIGS. 7A to 7C. In each of FIGS. 7A to 7C, alower portion of the case main body 4 and the power supply unit 7 arenot shown and an enlarged view showing a relationship between theconnecting shaft 47 of the support arm 42 and the connecting hole 16 ofthe support plates 15 is shown.

First, if the lid member 2 is completely closed onto the support member3, an entire back face of the transducer 44 fixed to the support arm 42comes into close contact with a front face of the core 34 as shown inFIG. 7A. At this time, the restricting shafts 49 of the connectingshafts 47 are not interfering with the fan-shaped holes 18 of theconnecting holes 16 and therefore the support arm 42 can turn in afront-back direction with respect to the support plates 15. Furthermore,because the lateral bar portion 43 and the transducer 44 are positionedon the front side of the axis of turning of the support arm 42, thecenter of gravity of the support arm 42 is positioned on the back sideof the axis of turning and a force for turning backward is always actingon the support arm 42. Therefore, the transducer 44 fixed to the supportarm 42 is in close contact with and pressed against the front face ofthe core 34.

Next, if the lid member 2 is completely opened from the support member3, as shown in FIG. 7B, the back face of the transducer 44 fixed to thesupport arm 42 is separated from the front face of the core 34. At thistime, the restricting shafts 49 of the connecting shafts 47 areinterfering with the fan-shaped holes 18 of the connecting holes 16. Asa result, if the support arm 42 turns backward to some extent withrespect to the support plates 15, the backward turning of the supportarm 42 with respect to the support plates 15 is restricted.

Then, if the lid member 2 is closed onto the support member 3, as shownin FIG. 7C, a lower end of the transducer 44 fixed to the support arm 42comes into contact with the front face of the core 34. At this time, therestricting shafts 49 of the connecting shafts 47 are not interferingwith the fan-shaped holes 18 of the connecting holes 16 and, as aresult, the support arm 42 can turn in the front-back direction withrespect to the support plates 15. Moreover, because the lateral barportion 43 and the transducer 44 are positioned on the front side of theaxis of turning of the support arm 42, the center of gravity of thesupport arm 42 is positioned on the back side of the axis of turning andthe force for turning backward is always acting on the support arm 42.Therefore, the lower end of the transducer 44 fixed to the support arm42 is in contact with and pressed against the front face of the core 34.

If the lid member 2 is completely closed onto the support member 3, theycome into the state shown in FIG. 7A again.

Another embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. 8. Thisembodiment is a variation of the inner tube portion of the liquidsoaking holder described above and the same reference numerals as thosein FIGS. 1 to 7C designate the same or corresponding portions in FIG. 8.

In an inner tube portion 50 according to the embodiment, as shown inFIG. 8, a large opening 51 is formed in a side face of a portion to behoused in the storage tank 28 and cores 52 and 53 having differentlengths and having circular sections are housed in a hollow portion inthe inner tube portion 50. The short core 52 is housed in a portion ofthe inner tube portion 50 to be positioned above the opening portion 30in the storage tank 28 and the long core 53 is housed in a portion ofthe inner tube portion 50 to be positioned below the opening portion 30in the storage tank 28.

In the present embodiment, the core forming the liquid soaking holder isdivided into two at the position of the inner tube portion correspondingto the opening portion in the storage tank and therefore it is easy toreplace only the upper end portion of the core which the transducer isin contact with and pressed against and which is relatively likely to bedeformed.

The spray liquid in the invention may be fragrance, deodorant,germicide, or the like but is not limited to them. The spray liquid maybe other agents which can be turned into mist by the ultrasonicvibration of the transducer.

Although the center of gravity of the support arm is positioned on theback side of the axis of turning so that the force for turning backwardacts on the support arm when the transducer fixed to the support arm isbrought into close contact with and pressed against the core in themethod employed in First Embodiment described above, the method is notlimited to it. For example, resilient bodies such as springs may bedisposed at connecting portions between the support arm and the supportplates to thereby always press the support arm backward.

DESCRIPTION OF REFERENCE SIGNS  1 Liquid sprayer 27 Lock pin  2 Lidmember 28 Storage tank  3 Support member 29 Liquid soaking holder  4Case main body 30 Opening portion  5 Spray liquid storage unit 31Holding face  6 Transducer unit 32 Outer tube portion  7 Power supplyunit 33 Inner tube portion  8 Spray hole 34 Core  9 Front face 35Connecting bridge 10 Left side face 36 Surrounding portion 11 Right sideface 37 Box portion 12 Upper face 38 Support piece 13 Lower face 39Holding plate 14 Fitting shaft 40 Retaining groove 15 Support plate 41Holding portion 16 Connecting hole 42 Support arm 17 Circular hole 43Lateral bar portion 18 Fan-shaped hole 44 Transducer 19 Lock hole 45Vertical bar portion 20 Back face 46 Protecting piece 21 Left side face47 Connecting shaft 22 Right side face 48 Round shaft 23 Upper face 49Restricting shaft 24 Lower face 50 Inner tube portion 25 Fitting hole 51Opening 26 Resilient plate 52, 53 Core

Although the present invention has been discussed in considerable detailwith reference to certain embodiments and preferred embodiments, otherembodiments are possible. Therefore, the scope of the appended claimsshould not be limited to the description of embodiments or preferredembodiments contained herein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A liquid sprayer for dispensing a spray liquidcomprising: (a) a main body comprising: a support member having a backface, an upper portion, and a lower portion; a power supply unitpositioned on the upper portion of the support member; a lid memberhaving a front face, wherein the lid member is rotatably connected tothe support member to an open position, which reveals the upper portionand lower portion of the support member, and a closed position; a sprayhole formed on the front face of the lid member; and (b) a spray liquidstorage unit which is supported by and positioned on the lower portionof the support member, the spray liquid storage unit comprising: a sprayliquid housed in a storage tank; and a core for soaking up spray liquid,wherein the spray liquid storage unit is removable from the main bodywhen the lid member is in the open position; and (c) a transducerdisposed inside the lid member and electrically connected to the powersupply unit, such that when the lid member is in the closed position,the transducer is in close contact with an pressed against a section ofthe core, and the core, transducer and spray hole are substantiallyaligned, such that when electric power is supplied from the power supplyunit to the transducer, the spray liquid retained in the core is turnedinto a spray mist by vibration of the transducer and sprayed outside themain body through the spray hole.
 2. The liquid sprayer according toclaim 1 wherein when the lid member is in an open position, the upperportion and lower portion of the support member are revealed, andwherein when the lid member is in a closed position, the transducerdisposed in the lid member is disposed parallel to a front face of thecore.
 3. The liquid sprayer according to claim 1 wherein the lid memberfurther comprises side faces rising from opposite sides of the frontface of the lid member, and wherein a support arm is positioned betweenopposite side faces of the lid member and the transducer is affixed tothe support arm, which raises and lowers the transducer with lid memberand aligns the transducer with the spray hole and core.
 4. The liquidsprayer according to claim 1 wherein the support member furthercomprises one or more support members for supporting one or both of thepower supply unit and the spray liquid storage unit.
 5. The liquidsprayer according to claim 1 wherein the spray mist sprayed outside themain body through the spray hole is projected outside the main body in asubstantially horizontal direction.
 6. The liquid sprayer according toclaim 1 wherein the spray mist comprises droplets from about 1 um to 10um.
 7. The liquid sprayer according to claim 1 wherein the spray mistcomprises droplets of less than 7 um.
 8. The liquid sprayer according toclaim 1 wherein the lid member further comprises a lock hole, whichrestricts opening of the lid member.
 9. The liquid sprayer according toclaim 1 wherein the main body further comprises a key pad for settingautomatic spray intervals for release of the spray mist.
 10. The liquidsprayer according to claim 9 wherein key pad is an electronic display.11. The liquid sprayer according to claim 1 wherein the main bodyfurther comprises a power indicator display.
 12. The liquid sprayeraccording to claim 1 wherein the main body further comprises a lightsensor for automatic turn off or turn on of the device.
 13. The liquidsprayer according to claim 1, wherein the spray liquid storage unitfurther comprises a cap for reducing evaporation of the spray liquidfrom the storage tank.
 14. The liquid sprayer according to claim 1,wherein the core comprises a tip end portion and a base end portion, thetip end portion including a front face to be in close contact with thetransducer, and the base end portion extending from the tip end portioninto the storage tank.